On September 25, the China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Land and Resources announced that flammable ice has been discovered by drilling in the town of Muli in Tianjun County, which is located in the permanent frozen soil belt at the southern foot of Qinlianshan Mountain, Qinhai Province.

This discovery has made China the first country in the world to discover natural gas hydrate in frozen soil regions of middle and low latitudes, as well as the third country in the world, following Canada and the US, to acquire natural gas hydrate by drilling inland.

This significant breakthrough proves that China's frozen soil regions contain abundant natural gas hydrate resources. Natural gas hydrate is also known as "flammable ice", which is a convenient and clean energy with high fuel value.

China's has as much as 2.15 million square meters of frozen soil, ranking third in the world. This means that China possesses good geological conditions to reserve natural gas hydrate and its resources enjoy good prospects. According to scientists’ preliminary evaluation, the resource reserves for long-term exploitation are at least equal to 35 billion tons of petroleum.